Daily Disposables—The Convenient Contact Lens Americans Aren’t Using

Daily disposable contact lenses were first approved for use in the United States in 1994. Yet, sixteen years later, only 10 to 15 per cent of American contacts wearers use them regularly. This is a surprising statistic*, especially in the face of their convenience and availability.

Daily disposables are contacts that are worn once, removed before bedtime, and replaced with a fresh pair the next day. While Americans have been slow to fully embrace daily disposables, other countries have not. For example, Scandinavian countries and Japan are seeing use of these contact lenses at 50 per cent and above. They are also the leading modality of lens wear in Europe and the rest of Asia.

Why is the market share so low in the US? Cost is a factor that weighs against using daily disposables, especially if you rely solely on your eye doctor to get them. However, if you have a valid prescription and go online to source them, you will discover these lenses can be quite affordable--especially as they are available in boxes of 30 and 90 and may be purchased in yearly supplies. Depending on where you shop, discounts and rebates allow you in some instances to have daily disposables for around $1 a day. Since you do not have to buy solutions or lens cases, those expenses are eliminated from the cost calculation for daily disposables. As manufacturers continue to improve on their production efficiencies, product costs for disposables will continue to trend towards a more economical option for consumers.

Daily disposable contact lens wear provides the consumer with a safer option for their ocular health. The day-to-day build-up of protein, lipids, and other substances that occur with other types of contact lenses (even 2-week and 30-day disposables) increases the risk of infection. The replacement frequency inherent with daily disposables reduces this risk. The once-a-day use also provides comfort for those plagued by allergy season, as deposits that trigger those symptoms have less chance to accumulate on the lenses. In addition to the standard correction for near- and farsightedness, there are now daily disposable torics for astigmatism, multifocals for presbyopia, and UV blocking lenses that protect the cornea.

When daily disposables were first approved for use, only one manufacturer (Johnson & Johnson/Vistakon) made them. Today, all the major contact lens companies offer lenses in this modality, including Bausch & Lomb, CIBA Vision, and CooperVision.

Ask your eye doctor whether you are a candidate for daily disposable contact lenses. The rest of the world has already discovered their convenience and comfort, why not you?

*According to Dr. Renee Reeder, OD, Associate Professor and Chief of the Cornea Center for Clinical Excellence at the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago.

Shopping Online for Contacts: Security and Privacy

The Fairness to Contact Lens Consumer Act, signed into law in 2004, empowered lens wearers with the right to obtain a copy of their contact lens prescription from their eye doctor. After years of anticipation, contact lens wearers were finally free to purchase their contact lens replacements wherever they felt was appropriate for them. Although mail order companies had sold contact lenses for years, online contact lens replacement providers were growing in popularity and using popular search engines to market their services to consumers.

Today, more and more consumers find that online shopping saves them money and is convenient, but how do you determine which sites are safe to deal with? Everyone is looking for great prices, but the overriding concern is to find vendors who have secure websites that protect your privacy.

How does one go about finding a secure shopping site? There are two indicators you can check to determine if a website is properly safeguarded. The first is by looking at the URL, or web page address, at the top of your web browser. As you may have noticed during your Internet surfing experience, most begin with “http”. However, a secure site will have an address that begins “https”. Be sure the latter prefix exists when you arrive at a web page on which you will be actually entering sensitive information. The added ‘s’ is a signal to users that information (e.g. names and passwords) will be encrypted as it is transmitted. The second check for a safe site is to search for the padlock icon, usually located at the bottom of the screen. If the padlock is closed, the site is secure. Make sure this icon is in the browser window and not in the web page area. A click (or double-click) on a legitimate padlock icon will display a website’s security information.

Reputable shopping sites also have privacy policies posted that can be easily found and understood. This is where you will learn if the contact lens vendor shares your information with affiliated companies or other third parties. If they do, there is an almost certain likelihood you will receive unsolicited e-mail (‘spam’)—unless the vendor expressly restricts these parties from marketing in this manner. Also look to see if the site belongs to a ‘seal of approval’ program administered by the Better Business Bureau or others whose job it is to set guidelines for privacy practices.

Keep in mind that policies can change, especially if the website happens to be sold to or purchased by other companies. Review the policies at websites you do business with at regular intervals so any sudden ‘switches’ will not surprise you. This will allow you to take timely action to stop your information from being misused.

Since there are never any guarantees, care and research is necessary in selecting a legitimate online contact lens seller. However, this should not deter you from taking advantage of the convenience offered by online shopping. Remember, a responsible shopper will always be in a better position to take advantage of new opportunities. Take the time to locate responsible vendors that will safeguard their customers’ security and privacy.